Mozambique's ruling party candidate declared winner of presidential election as rigging claims swirl

MAPUTO, Mozambique — (AP) — Mozambique's ruling party candidate Daniel Chapo was declared the winner of the country's presidential election Thursday as the opposition claimed the vote was rigged and one party said it would challenge the result in court.

According to the national election commission, Chapo won with 70,67% of the national vote, followed by independent candidate Venancio Mondlane with 20,32% of the vote. The candidate of the opposition party Renamo, Ossufo Momade, came third with 5,81% of the total votes.

The results of the Oct. 9 election mean the governing Front for the Liberation of Mozambique party, or Frelimo, has extended its 49 years in power since the southern African country gained independence from Portugal in 1975. It then fought a bloody 15-year civil war against rebel group Renamo, which later became the main opposition party and also contested this election.

Speaking shortly after the results were announced, Chapo told supporters he condemned the recent killings of two opposition figures. He also criticized the strikes called by the opposition to protest what it claimed was systematic deceit.

Police quelled the demonstrations this week, dispersing them by firing teargas.

“As the Frelimo party, we want to once again reiterate our repudiation of the murders of Elvino Dias and Paulo Guambe as well as other citizens physically affected in this ongoing process of demonstrations," said Chapo.

Dias, a lawyer and advisor to opposition presidential candidate Mondlane, was killed when gunmen riddled his car with bullets in the port capital of Maputo last Friday. Guambe, the party spokesperson, was also in the car and was killed.

Chapo promised to “try to do better for the Mozambican people,” regardless of race, religion or political affiliation.

Lutero Simango of the opposition Mozambique Democratic Movement, who got just over 3% of the vote, on Thursday disputed the election outcome and said his party would challenge the results in court.

“We from the MDM will be on the side of the people, of electoral justice, and will combat all manipulations, which is why we will combine legal and political action so that the results reflect the will of the voters," he said.

Despite the confirmation of the results by the election commission, the Constitutional Council will have the final say after it considers any appeals filed by the opposition.

Chapo will face immediate challenges including an extremist organization affiliated to the Islamic State group that has launched attacks on communities in the northern province of Cabo Delgado since 2017. It has carried out several beheadings.

Around 600,000 of the 1.3 million people who fled the province since 2017 have since returned home, many to shattered communities where houses, markets, churches, schools and health facilities have been destroyed, the United Nations said earlier this year.

Mozambique also faces high levels of unemployment and hunger, exacerbated by El Nino-induced severe drought. According to the U.N. World Food Program, 1.3 million people face severe food shortages.

Frelimo has often been accused of rigging elections, which it has consistently denied. Current President Filipe Nyusi of Frelimo is stepping down after serving the maximum two terms allowed.

The EU’s observer mission said this week that some of its election observers had been prevented from monitoring counting in some areas and there was an “unjustified alteration” of results at some polling stations.

Independent political analyst Onisio Buanaissa said it was in the best interest of the country for the opposition to accept the election results as announced by the electoral commission.

“You may not be satisfied with the result, but you need to respect that it is the majority. This is the very logic of liberal democracies,” he said.

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